War of the Wives
by YoungestCullen8
Summary: Adam returns to the Ponderosa to find things have changed. Hoss has died and Ben now has Candy's family to call his own. Even though his wife and Candy's wife don't see eye to eye, Adam has found an interesting friend. R&R
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** I enjoyed getting back to my favorite Westerns so I decided to right another to see how well it works. So please enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own these characters except the ones I add and you'll know who they are when you hear their names. Also, it doesn't exactly say what year Adam was born, but I kept looking and it showed that Little Joe was born in 1848 and Adam was twelve years older than Joe. If I'm wrong, please tell me.

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"Bring that horse up here!" Ben Cartwright yelled to his ranch hands.

The owner of the Ponderosa sat atop his horse and watched as one of his favorite ranch hands rode the horse up to him. It had been a long hard couple of years. His ranch hand Candy had gotten married and settled not far from the ranch house. He now had "grandchildren" that ran around the house like heathens. Bear and Carson were his world, other than the ranch he worked.

On a sad note, he lost another son. Hoss had been crossing Lake Tahoe with his horse when he saw a child flailing the water. Having the soft heart he had, he dove in to save him. He did but at a price. When they found him, his pant leg had been caught on a log in the lake and he had drowned. It had hurt the entire family to no end. They still ached over it. When the kids asked for Uncle Hoss, they all told them he was in a better place.

Joe, the youngest son, was seeing a girl in Virginia City. Ben didn't know much about her besides the fact that Joe liked her. Joe had been having a hard time since Hoss had passed. He had no one to argue with at the dinner table because Candy spent time with his family after work. So he spent most of his time in town.

Candy and his wife Wolf were the best hands he had. Candy went on cattle drives whenever he needed him to and Wolf was the best horse wrangler he had ever seen or had work for him. After having a rough go of it when they all met, she was a welcomed sight in town when they went. Her children were also welcomed even though one was full blooded Sioux and the other a half-breed.

Other than the small family he kept around, Ben had nothing else left. He used to be afraid Candy would come ask for his final pay and disappear. Now that he had a family he was around more than he had been when he first started working. Joe was getting serious about a girl and he wasn't sure if he would have another daughter-in-law like he did in Wolf.

Candy rode the horse to him and Wolf came out of nowhere to check the horse. She ran her hands along the flanks of the animal and down the legs. She was good with the animals, speaking softly in her native tongue that always calmed the animals down.

She rounded the other side and threw her hands on her hips. "He's clean. Muscles are well formed and he's not throwing his head anymore."

"How's he ride, Candy?" Ben asked as he looked up to the woman's husband.

"Like Wind does only slower." Candy laughed. Wind was the Canadays prized stallion. Wolf had "tamed" him when she first came to the Ponderosa. The catch was he would only let the Canadays ride him. Anyone else would get bucked.

"Good. Is he ready for auction?"

"Should be in a few days."

"Very good."

"Pa!" They all looked at the hill as Little Joe came barreling down it on his prize Paint Cochise. Those two had had many adventures. "Pa, you have to come back to the house!"

"What is it, Joe? It's not the children is it?" Ben asked hurriedly. If he lost those children he would never forgive himself.

"No, they're fine. Adam's back."

Ben spurred Buck into action. When he looked back, Joe and Wolf were following him with Candy hot on their heels. Adam was Ben's oldest son. He had come back from the east after going to college and worked the ranch for a bit. When he got bored, he headed back east once again. Ben heard from him every now and then but lately the letters had been quiet.

As they came to the house, there stood Adam in all his glory. His hair was the same length as it had been when he left five years earlier. He was a little huskier than he had been at that time. His eyes were the same piercing hazel that unnerved a person when he looked at them.

Ben slid off his horse and slowly walked towards his son. He wasn't sure if he wanted to believe it, even though he was standing right in front of him. So he decided on a question only Adam would know.

"Where were you born?" he asked cautiously.

"In my grandfather's house in Boston 1836."

A smile graced Ben's face. "Adam!" The two men hugged before Ben stepped back to look at his son. "You look wonderful."

"Being back east does that, Pa. I told Little Joe not to get you but like usual, he doesn't listen."

"He's getting better."

"I saw two children running around the house. Whose are they?"

"They're ours." Candy piped up as he tethered his horse. He threw his arm around Wolf's neck as he walked up. "I'm Candy Canaday. This is my wife Running Wolf, Wolf for short."

Adam turned his eyes to the woman below Candy's shoulder. "Paiute?"

Wolf smiled as she shook her head. "Sioux."

"You're a long way from home."

"No, I'm not."

Adam nodded at her quick reply. She was at home; she looked it. "So if you're at home, why are you dressed like a ranch hand?"

She laughed as her arms went around Candy's waist. "Because I am a ranch hand. I train the horses here."

"She's unlike anyone you've ever seen, Adam." Ben stated fondly. He obviously liked the two he had hired after Adam had left.

"I'll have to watch you work." It was the best compliment Adam could give for the moment.

"I look forward to it." Wolf stated.

The oldest Cartwright son looked around. "Where's Hoss?" Everyone suddenly got quiet. Adam looked between the four as they looked at the ground. "What?"

"Ho…Hoss drowned a year ago." Joe stammered as he fiddled with his hat. "He drowned saving a little boy in Lake Tahoe."

The news hit Adam hard. He had always gotten along with Hoss; everyone had. He was just that type of person. He was good with everyone he met unless someone messed with his family. Looking at that family, new and old, he knew they all missed the big lug with an equally big heart. He would have been a good father and husband if he had been given the chance.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here, Pa." he said quietly and he meant that.

"It's all right, Son. I understand why you weren't and Hoss would understand as well." Ben replied to comfort his son.

The front door opened. Two little boys ran out laughing and a little girl followed asking them to wait. Candy grabbed the girl and set her on his hip, rubbing noses with her when she was settled. Wolf grabbed the oldest boy and tucked him between her and Candy. The other boy stopped in front of Adam. Then a young woman stepped out.

"Adam, those children are demons and that cook doesn't help with discipline." She said clearly frustrated.

"Hop Sing adores Bear and Carson so I'm not surprised." Wolf said.

Ben frowned. "Adam, who is this?"

Adam smiled. "This is my wife Amanda and my son Benjamin. Our infant son is upstairs asleep in the guest room."

Ben's face changed instantly. "Two more grandsons?"

Adam's son marched up to him and looked up. "I'm Benji. My little brother is Michael."

"Hello, Benji. I'm your Grandpa Ben. That's your Uncle Joe, Uncle Candy and Aunt Wolf."

"Pa says I was named after you."

"I guess it's true. Come on. Let's go in the house."

"Ma," Bear said as he tugged on Wolf's pant leg, "I wanna play."

"Grandpa Ben says we're going inside." Wolf replied as she pushed her son towards the door.

They entered in an orderly fashion and sat down around the coffee table. Candy let Carson down and the children ran around them, playing eagerly with each other.

"So when did the two of you meet?" Joe asked as Hop Sing served coffee.

"On the stage from Carson City to Boston." Amanda replied. "We liked each other so much we were married the next week. Benji was born ten months later. It will be five years in a few days."

"What about you, Candy? When did you start working for Pa?" Adam asked.

"It was about three years ago. They nearly shot me and then I joined them after an argument." Candy answered. "It wasn't too much into my second year that I married Wolf. Carson was born eleven months later. She'll be three in March."

"So she and your son are two years apart?"

"Yes, Bear was almost two when I met Candy and would have been three four months after Carson was born. That would make his birthday in July." Wolf said.

Adam looked at the older boy as he wrestled with his son. "He doesn't look to be half white."

"That's because he's not. " Candy explained. "He's full blooded Sioux. His birth father was killed before Wolf and I got married. The Sioux nation allowed me to raise him as my own."

"Indians aren't that civilized." Amanda stated as she took a sip of tea.

Ben frowned and looked at his daughter-in-law after sharing a look with Wolf. "Well, Amanda, Wolf is full blooded Sioux and she's civilized."

Amanda turned her gaze back to the other woman in the room. "She's dressed as a man and works as a ranch hand. She's is not civilized."

Wolf held her tongue down at her end of the table. She wasn't prone to outbursts of anger but this woman was grating on her nerves. She fisted her hands at her sides and leaned back against the couch.

"See? She acts like a man. Uncivilized."

"Unlike you, this was how I was raised. I was raised to work the land. I like to work. Get used to it." Wolf snapped.

"Women should not get their hands dirty. They should be in the kitchen making their husbands dinner and doing laundry while cleaning house. You trade your femininity for masculinity when you work the land."

"And I suppose you would rather ride side saddle like a good English woman rather than feel the power and the grace of the animal you are riding."

"I would take a buggy instead of riding a filthy animal."

Candy and Joe shared an amused look as Wolf inhaled sharply. No one had gotten her this riled ever, not even Joe who spent most of his time trying to get her to lose her cool. They could understand her anger though. She was raised to respect the land and the animals around her. Someone criticizing that was going to get her full attention.

"I will not apologize for being born Sioux and I will not apologize for loving my job. But I will apologize for your ignorance. I may be Sioux, but I am the wife of a white man like you are."

"You are sub human. That feather in your hair proves it."

At that remark, Wolf exploded. Severe Sioux erupted from her as she stood and paced to the other end of the room. Candy jumped up to block her path in case she decided to go for blood.

"Uh, Amanda," Ben said as he tried to ease the tension. "The feather was a gift from her husband after her son was born. She wears it in memory of him."

"Who gives their wife a feather after their son is born?"

"It's an Indian tradition." Candy said as he leaned against the couch arm. He held his hat up to show the woven leather around the bowl. "I was given this by the Sioux nation after I helped bring a murderer to justice. It shows we are now friends with the Sioux nation. Indians are notorious for giving gifts to their friends."

Amanda stared at the extended Cartwright family. She shrugged elegantly. "Uncivilized."

Wolf threw up her hands then stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. The baby upstairs suddenly started crying, prompting Amanda to go upstairs to see about him.

Adam looked from the staircase to his pa. He tipped his coffee cup in salute. "Here's to the many, many wars those two will have."

The other men laughed and agreed. The war of the wives was about to start.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's** **Note**: I knew I wanted Adam to come home but when I started writing, I had no plot course. I didn't want to do another plot where someone gets taken. As I continued, I thought about how some families are and I settled for writing about the squabble between two wives in the same family. So here it is.

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The next morning Adam stood beside Ben at the corral and watched as Candy and Wolf trained the horses. It was more like a race between the husband and wife. They could hear Candy urging his horse to go faster. Wolf would lean forward and hug the horse's neck instead of yelling at it.

The two riders turned their horses around at a rock and barreled back. Candy would glance at his wife. She was leaning forward on the horse, her eyes set on the corral. When she sat up, her horse bolted forward, leaving his husband in the dust. He dropped his head and admitted defeat once he got back in earshot of the other three.

Wolf had already in the horse she was riding and climbed over the fence of the corral. They had a horse saddle and waiting on her. She swung into the saddle and prepared to ride the horse. The other hand moved and the horse took to bucking.

It bucked once, twice and she jerked the reins with a sharp word in Sioux and the horse stopped immediately. She started riding circles around the corral, first at a slow walk then at a trot and finally a run.

"Ready?" Candy asked. She nodded. "Open the gate, Tom." The gate was thrown open and the horse took off across the open field. Candy followed as a precaution.

Adam watched as the couple handled the horse with ease. They were a good team, working at the same pace and time. Wolf brought it around and was heading back when it stumbled and fell, throwing her from the saddle. She rolled to ease the shock and went back to the horse. It got up but it was limping. Both rider and horse made it back to the corral.

"How is he?" Ben asked.

Wolf shook her head. "It's a bur. He stepped on that briar patch. We need to clean that up."

"What about you? You took a nasty fall." Adam said.

She touched her hand to her head and felt the warm liquid. "I'll be fine. I've taken harder falls before."

"Candy?"

"I can't say anything. She won't listen to me." Candy replied. He did hand her a bandana to wipe the blood away. "Hey, Tom!"

"Yeah, Candy?" the other ranch hand said as he grabbed the horse's reins.

"Get another hand down here to clean out that briar patch. We need that area to run the horses."

"Ok."

Wolf turned me to her husband. "Take me to the house. Hot water and balm will stop the bleeding."

"I'll take her. I'm headed back to the house anyway." Adam offered.

Candy looked at his wife. She nodded, obviously having no qualms with the middle Cartwright. "Thank you. Wolf, will you be down after you fix yourself up."

"More than likely." She replied.

"Take her to the ranch house." Ben said as Adam rode up on his horse Sport.

"Our house is closer."

"You took a fall on one of my horses and you'll go to my house." Wolf made a face at him. "Don't argue with me, girl."

"Oh, I wasn't going to." She looked at Adam's outstretched hand then up at the face it belonged to. "I can get on."

Candy laughed at Adam's face when she grabbed his hip and swung up behind him. "She's very independent."

"I can tell. See ya'll in a bit." He spurred his horse on and rode over the range towards his family home.

Sport knew the way home and rode it happily. Adam thought about turning around to talk to his "sister-in-law" to get to know her but he could feel her holding the bandana to her forehead. Obviously it was still bleeding. He was pleasantly surprised she didn't hold on to him as they rode. She had obviously been in the saddle since she was young just like he had.

She slid to the ground before he did when they returned to the ranch house. Bear and Benji were playing in the yard as they rode up. Bear dropped the ball he was playing with to come check on his mother. After proving she was okay, Wolf shooed her son away and went into the house.

It was Hop Sing's turn to have a fit. He began to chant in Chinese as when he saw her and she asked him for hot water and the special balm she kept in the house. When he returned, he had a clean rag and the bowl of hot water. Then they got into an argument about who was going to clean her up. The cook won and Wolf settled into a dining room chair.

"Why you do this?" Hop Sing asked. "Too pretty to be bleeding."

"Thank you, Hop Sing, but I need you to just stop the bleeding please." Wolf replied.

"Sit still and be quiet."

She leaned back and let the cook clean the wound right above her left eye. "Go ahead and ask."

Adam's eyebrows went up. "Ask what?"

"All the questions you have swimming in your head. I can see the wheels turning."

"Well, how did you end up working for the Ponderosa?"

"I was on the run and your pa gave me a home and a job. I was lucky he took pity on a single mother and her son. After I tamed my stallion, he let me have him and become a bronc buster."

"Does this happen often?"

"Do I get hurt often or thrown?"

"Thrown?"

"Not often. I kicked more than anything. You should see how many times I get kicked off the fence."

It wasn't too long after getting patched up again that Adam got to find out.

They went back to the corral so Wolf could continue working.

Ben ordered her to stay away from the horses for the rest of the day. Well, she didn't listen obviously. She climbed up on the top rail and sat to watch the other bronc busters try to tame the horse she had been working with. She obviously wasn't happy when she watched the man trying to ride the horse. He was bucked off the second go round and refused to get back on.

Candy was the next man on the horse. Before he even got in the saddle, Wolf called him over and whispered something in his ear. He nodded then got in the saddle and took the reins. He began saying some Sioux words. Obviously the horse knew Sioux but he didn't know the voice speaking the words. Candy was bucked off hard.

It was Joe's turn. He got in the saddle as Candy nursed his wounded pride and shoulder. The youngest Cartwright fared better than his ranch hand friend. He lasted about the eight seconds it would take for him to win a rodeo in Texas. He got up to Candy laughing at him.

Wolf glanced at Ben. The ranch owner shook his head. She turned back to the others as they tried to tame the horse.

On the fifth go around one of the other hands were getting ready to ride. Wolf called out for him not to go it, for the rest of the hands to leave the horse alone. None of them listened even though she was technically in charge of the horses. When the hand who was up next got on, the horse started bucking.

She was the closest person to him and when the horse came up, he clipped her in the chin with his hoof as he threw his rider. Bleeding once again, she jumped into the corral although Ben was yelling at her not to do it. She stood in front of the horse, speaking soothingly in Sioux. The horse stopped bucking but he was tossing his head. Wolf grabbed hold of his reins and brought his head down to her level. She stared him in the eyes as she continued to talk. He stopped neighing and tossing his head as he listened intently.

Adam was amazed. When she stepped back, the horse pawed the ground as if he were getting ready to charge. She simply watched him, not even scared that she was in the corral with a powerful animal. He looked to the Indian woman's husband. Candy was smiling ear to ear. He was proud that his wife could do something so awesome.

"Take Blaze back to the house and check on Snake-eyes." Wolf ordered as she walked out of the corral with the horse. She came around to where the others were waiting on her. This time she was greeted with scowls. "What?"

"I told you not to mess with that horse." Ben scolded.

"No, you told me not to ride the horse. You said nothing about getting in the corral." She replied.

"It's the same thing."

"No, it's not. I can talk to the horse but not ride him."

"She got you there, Pa." Joe said.

"You still got hurt when you weren't doing anything." Candy complained as he looked at her chin.

"What's new?" Wolf asked.

"It just means you have to go back to the house and have Hop Sing take care of that one too." Ben said. The men laughed as the woman hung her head.

"Come on." Candy said. "You can ride with me. Maybe we can wrangle some dinner out of the man."

"You're welcome to stay for dinner. I know the boys would like to spend a little more time together and maybe you could get to know Amanda better."

Wolf looked at her "father-in-law" sharply. "That woman is a bigot. She has no respect for anyone other than Adam and herself. She called my children demons."

"Well, you have to admit that Bear and Carson can be demons when they want to be." Candy said.

"We're the only one allowed to call them demons. No one else." Joe and Candy shared a pained look.

"Amanda's never been near Indians. All she's heard is what people tell her." Adam explained.

"Have you told her about your adventures with Indians or women who lived with Indians?"

"Yes, and she doesn't believe that I would."

"Well, it's your fault for not educating her about your relationship with the Paiutes and the Shoshone. Granted the Sioux tend to be mean, your family now has a decent relationship with them and I will not allow a high-fluting woman to tell me different, especially when she has never sat down and talked to one as if he or she were human."

The other three stood by quietly. Candy had heard her on a rampage because he lived with her and he knew to keep his mouth shut. Ben and Joe hadn't heard it before but they knew better than anyone to open their mouths and insert their feet. The taste of leather and rubber was not a pleasant one.

Adam looked at the tiny Indian woman in front of him. Usually he never allowed anyone to call his wife names but this time he allowed it. Something in her voice let him know she didn't usually snap at people. Well, that and the others were eerily quiet. They refused to make eye contact with him. Wolf was Sioux and the Sioux were known for their tempers when they needed it.

He nodded. "All right. I'll talk to my wife tonight after dinner if she brings anything up."

Wolf scoffed at him. "If she brings anything up? I've known people like her all my life. She will say what comes to her mind and not care whose feelings she's hurting. She talks about my children again and I won't be responsible for my actions."

Candy thought it was time he got in the fight. "Come on, dear. Let's go get cleaned up before the delicious dinner we will eat." She looked at him for a moment then walked over to his horse. Candy sighed and hung his head. "Is this really worth it?"

"Women have a funny way of working things out. I say we just let them argue until they compromise." Ben said.

"You may lose a few dishes in the process."

"Then they can take that up with Hop Sing. I'll see you for dinner, Candy." Candy took his cue to get his wife and leave. He did just that too. Adam looked to his father. "Don't give me that look, Adam. I know what I'm doing."

"Really? Because it seems like you are asking for trouble." Adam said.

"Wolf won't do anything. She'll say her piece but she won't attack unless she's attacked first. Your wife is completely safe."

"What he says is true, Adam." Joe said.

Adam was more inclined to believe his brother and father than the woman who had just entered their family. With that said, he followed his brother and father back to their family home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's** **Note:** Now, I know this might strike a nerve with some people but this is the way I see it. Indians were not regarded as people during the time period which this story is set. I'm just writing my take on it. And if you must leave a comment, please be nice. I wouldn't say mean things to you about your story so I ask you to give me the same courtesy.

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Candy held his breath as he and Wolf rode up to the house for dinner. After the confrontation a few days earlier with Amanda and the one with Adam that afternoon, Candy wasn't sure his wife was going to be able to take it. She was very protective of her family. Three years ago she had endured four days in a cistern full of water without giving her family up. If she could take on a cistern, she could take on anyone.

The two wrapped the reins around the post in front of the house when they stopped. Without knocking they went inside. Everyone was sitting around waiting for them obviously. Bear and Carson ran up to them for quick hugs and kisses then went back to playing.

Amanda was holding Michael gingerly, as if she didn't want him to break. When Wolf walked over, she tightened her grip on him. Wolf scoffed and settled onto the couch beside Joe. The other man laughed heartily at the reaction his Indian sister-in-law was going to be having for the rest of the night.

"Dinner is served." Hop Sing called happily as he placed two dishes on the table, went back to the kitchen for two more, and placed them on the table too. When he looked up, he looked right at Wolf. "What happen to you?"

Wolf rubbed her chin. "Horse's hoof." She replied.

"I tell you one, I tell you a hundred times. Do not go in that corral with horses. Very dangerous. You very pretty lady. Need no more scars."

"Thanks, Hop Sing."

"I don't know why everyone's so upset that she got hurt. She's just a ranch hand." Amanda said.

Hop Sing turned to the new woman while Wolf looked to the ceiling. "I know Sioux woman. I like Sioux woman. I don't know you. I no like you. No talk about Sioux woman like that."

"You're just a cook who doesn't know English. I don't have to take anything from you."

Hop Sing huffed up and grabbed the chicken. "Then you no eat."

Ben grabbed his cook's arm as he headed back into the kitchen with their dinner. "Hop Sing, we've all worked very hard today and are very hungry. Please don't take the chicken away."

"Mean woman talk about Sioux woman. She no eat."

"Yes, well, I'm sure she has an appetite as well."

"I took care of four children, two of which are heathens that need to be whipped." Amanda said.

Wolf slammed her hand down on the table. "That's it! I will not sit here and let this woman talk about my children that way."

"Where are you going?" Candy asked as she headed for the door.

"For a ride. Don't follow me." She slammed the door on the way out.

Candy looked at Adam after that. "Great. I just talked her out of staying home and now your wife runs her off. I'm really liking you at this moment."

"Your wife needs to learn to calm her Indian temper." Amanda said as she ate dainty bites.

"And you need to calm yours jabs at her." Joe said. Adam kicked him under the table. "Dinner conversations are usually decent. Now that you're lovely wife is here, they have turned into a brawl." He threw his napkin onto his plate and walked to the door.

"Now where are you going?" Ben asked.

"For a ride. Don't follow me." He also slammed the door on his way out.

"He's going where Wolf is, isn't he?"

Candy nodded as he balanced green beans on his fork. "More than likely."

"You're not worried another man is with your wife?" Amanda asked.

"Lady, you have a lot to learn about my wife. One is her best friend is Joe. They argue with each other on a daily basis. I am safe in my marriage. So nothing more from you."

Amanda stared in wonder at the way Candy talked to her but otherwise didn't say a word.

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Wolf laid out in the open pasture and stared up at the stares. For a September night, it was cool out on the range. She had built a fire and just sprawled out.

She was tired of listening to someone tell her she wasn't human. She knew she was and that was all that mattered, but this person was talking about her children. That didn't fly. Her children were her life and no one was going to say anything she wouldn't say.

She was right when she had called Amanda a bigot. That woman was too uppity-up and she had married a rich rancher. Now that they had two children there was nothing Adam could do. Wolf had no doubt that Adam loved his wife, but she had some qualities that could be tames. The Indian woman knew she had some qualities that needed to be changed, such as working with horses when her boss told her not to, but that was her problem because she loved horses.

The sound of hooves hitting the ground hard was unmistakably, as was the slight gait pattern she'd come to know. Cochise skidded to a halt a few feet from Wind. Joe slid off his back and walked over to her. He didn't say a word as he flopped down on his back and stared at the sky.

If there was one thing that could be said about Wolf and Joe, it was that they were very close and had been since Wolf had moved onto the Ponderosa. They spent many days bickering back and forth but it was all in fun. Joe was the one that went to town with her when they absolutely needed something. They were usually together if she and Candy weren't together. They were comfortable with each other and knew when to stop their tirades.

Joe sighed as he rubbed his long curly hair. "Sorry about what happened in there. I agree with you that she doesn't need to say those things about you or your family."

"It's done and over with. Don't worry about it." She replied.

"I can't help but worry about it. She's going to be here for a little bit. She's Adam's wife, but you're Candy's wife and I've known you longer and I know you better. She needs to get to know you."

"She doesn't want to get to know me, Joe, and I really don't care."

"I know you don't, but it would make life easier for all of us if the two of you didn't speak to each other."

"She's going to say something every time I'm in hearing range."

"Then stay out on the range."

"I'm thinking of doing just that."

"Oh, and don't get kicked by the horses anymore. Pa just might make you sit out on busting them."

They bickered for the rest of the time they spent out under the stars.

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The children were fast asleep and Candy was getting ready for bed when Wolf returned to their small home. She locked the front door and doused the lantern as she walked to their bedroom.

"Hey." Candy said as she dropped her gun belt to their dresser.

"Hey." She replied changing quickly into her night clothes. She climbed in the bed and looked at him. He was reading a book Joe had loaned him the day before. He loved to read and that made him extremely smart and able to read to their children. "Candy?"

"Hmm?"

"Sorry."

Candy stuck his book mark between the pages, closed the book, slipped down under the covers and curled on his side to listen to her because he knew she wanted to talk. "What about?"

"This evening. I know you wanted a peaceful evening of family and dinner and I didn't make it any better."

"No, you did." She frowned. "You made Amanda shut her mouth. She doesn't know what's going on out here and it's bothering her. She's surprised to see a woman who can do it all; be a mother, wife and ranch hand all in one. I told her I wouldn't want you any other way. She seemed really surprised at that."

"But she knows?"

"She knows enough, but I'm not certain it will sink in or not."

Wolf rolled over onto her back. "I don't know what to do now."

Candy's face brightened. "I do."

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Back at the ranch house, Amanda was sitting in bed when Adam returned. He had been talking to Ben for most of the evening, just getting caught up for the five years he missed.

He was pleasantly surprised to find her sitting in bed waiting for him to return. He took off his vest and shirt and was working on his belt when she opened her mouth to speak.

"I want her off this ranch." She said.

Adam stared at the wall in front of him for a moment, having stalled in undressing. "I can't throw her off the ranch. She is employed by my father and lives here."

"You're going to inherit this ranch when your father dies. You might as well get ready to fire her when he does."

"Don't talk like that. I just found out I lost my brother in a drowning accident. I don't want to think about losing my father or my brother."

"Sorry." Amanda tapped her finger against the book on her lap. "She's so rude and she doesn't listen to reason. She has no idea how to raise children and what kind of woman works with horses for a living?"

"Horses is what she knows and her children are just fine. You're just concerned about my family. You want them to like you so much because you were well-liked back east. Well, that isn't happening. You haven't been quiet about that woman since you got here. And no one thinks you will."

"She has given me no reason to like her."

"And she has given you no reason to hate her."

"She's Indian."

"She's an excellent ranch hand and mother and friend. You'd be lucky to have her as your friend. She could put in a good word for you in town when you need to go."

Amanda watched her husband change into his sleeping garments and climb into bed. He took the book from her hand, looked at it then placed it on the night stand. He turned off the light.

He had a point. She knew no one around here and if that Indian woman could get her to be the most liked woman in town, she could get whatever she wanted, even if it included having that woman banned from everything.

A sick smile twisted itself on her face as she began planning her retaliation to the woman who had turned even her husband on her.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't. Wolf's been here longer than you have and has many more friends than you do. You enforce your ruling air too soon and you will be run out of Virginia City faster than it would take me to talk Wolf into being your friend."

"I don't want her as my friend."

"From what Joe says, she's a good friend to have because she's loyal. That's a good trademark to have in a best friend. You'd do well to remember that next time you try to tell Little Joe he knows nothing about Indians."

Well that downed her plans for the next few months. She had to come up with something else that would get the Indian woman into trouble and the only thing she could come up with had to deal with her stealing.

She smiled then settled into bed with her husband.

Adam had the sneaking suspicion his wife wasn't going to listen to him. That wasn't uncommon but in this case it was going to be dangerous. Wolf was Sioux and Sioux Indians had a tendency for mischief if given the opportunity. He had a feeling Amanda was going to give Wolf that opportunity very soon and there was nothing he was going to be able to do about it. This was going to be interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's** **Note:** If you were wondering why no one knew that Adam was married, here's the chapter that explains it. I couldn't remember if I said why but after a review, I've decided to have a little fun with the explanation but the following conversation is also very emotional.

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"Hey, Adam," Joe said as he and his brother were riding fence the next day. He was biting the hangnail he'd been fussing over for the entirety of the morning. "Why didn't you ever tell us you were married and had kids? You were in touch with Pa when you got married and when Benji was born. Why never bring them up?"

Adam glanced at his baby brother from under the brim of his hat. "I forgot."

Joe's mouth fell slack as words refused to form for a few good minutes, his hangnail all but forgotten at his brother's statement. Adam thought he had silence his brother since he'd been yakking since they left the house that morning. Unfortunately, that wasn't his luck.

"You forgot? How do you forget something that important?" Joe's voice screeched as he asked his brother those questions that took forever to form in his mind.

"How did you forget to tell me about Hoss?"

Joe sobered up immediately then became slightly angry. "We didn't know where you were. Pa tried looking for you but there was no reply. Candy even sent letters to his buddies back east. Nothing was found. It was like you disappeared. Now I know why." Joe spurred Cochise on ahead, angry and slightly hurt. When Joe was angry or hurt, it was best to let him be for a little bit because he normally cheered up within an hour or so.

This time Adam couldn't let him be angry. It had to deal with the family that meant the world to them. This had to be fixed immediately.

"Joe. Joe, wait up." Adam got Sport into a gallop to keep up with his little brother. He was well aware that his sharp tongue had hurt his feelings. Joe wasn't the ornery little kid anymore. He was a fine young man and proved his worth in their middle brother's absence. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know." the other replied as the wiped a stray tear from his eye. He never cried. He didn't understand why he did now. "It was so hard to find you. Pa thought you had died. Adam, you don't know what happened to him the first few months after we buried Hoss. He closed up and didn't talk to anyone. The ones who made him feel alive again were Bear and Carson. They brought so much joy to his life. Now he spends as much time with them as he can. Candy's become another son and Wolf is the daughter he never had. They kept this ranch going and still do. Wolf argues with Pa because she knows he likes it."

"It seems like he's replaced me."

"He hasn't replaced you, Adam. You're his firstborn. No one could replace you. No one can replace Hoss or me. Candy's just taken on the younger son role and he's happy to step back if need be."

"I won't ask him do that if he makes Pa happy."

"Hey, Adam?"

"Yeah, Joe?"

"Don't tell Pa you forgot to tell him about Amanda and the boys. It might kill him."

"I wasn't planning on it. And Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Joe smiled as he rode beside his older brother. He was Big Brother Adam and would always be. They had had their differences but that always made them stronger. Hoss had made the trio complete, but now that he was gone, Candy was there to make that happen. Joe had no doubt that once Adam got to know the Canadays he would become friends with them as quickly as the entire ranch had.

They rode to the house, fully aware their conversation was fresh in their memories. As they came around the barn, they saw Wolf throwing the blanket over Wind's back. The stallion was neighing happily as she talked to him. By the tone in her voice, Wolf was not happy. They saw Candy come out of the barn with two harnessed horses. That was when they saw the surrey hooked up and almost ready to go.

"Where are the two of you going this fine Thursday morning?" Joe asked.

"Not two." Wolf said in an extremely annoyed voice.

"Not two. Three." The other voice made Wolf cringe. Amanda walked over to her husband and kissed his cheek. "Wolf has graciously invited me to go to town with her."

"I did no such thing." Wolf replied as she situated herself on Wind's back.

"Candy's driving me in the surrey. Aren't they a lovely couple?"

Candy looked to Joe and whispered, "I'm only going so there's no trouble."

Joe nodded and laughed. "Good idea."

Adam ignored the other two and looked at his wife. "What do you need in town?"

"Oh, I just want to look around. If I'm going to live here, I need to be familiar with the people and everything."

"I keep telling you. You're not going to live _here_. Adam's going to build you a nice big house off in the middle of nowhere so I can't see you anymore." Wolf said.

Candy thumped her hard without even looking at her. Wind grabbed his hat in his teeth and lifted it out of reach. The foreman turned around and jumped to get it. "Give me that back, Wind."

"That'll teach you to mess with me." His wife said playfully as he set his hat back on his head. She leaned down to kiss him as the smile on his face made him look goofy.

"I'm ready, Candy."

Wolf made a face that Joe had to laugh at. "One of these days, Joe, you're going to get a boot to the rump and not know what hit you."

"I'm so scared. Get out of here." Wolf made a face and then turned Wind towards the trail. When they were far enough out of range, he turned to Adam. "Your wife's got something planned."

"That I have no doubt. Wolf's got a plan as well." Adam replied with a small smile.

"You better believe she does. Come on. Let's go inside and see who comes back in one piece." Adam nodded and followed his brother inside.

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Candy made sure to keep his horse and his wife in view as they neared Virginia City. When he and Wolf said they were going into town for groceries, Amanda had spoken up. Being the gentleman he was, he couldn't exactly turn her down, not with him already going to town. Wolf had promptly punched him when he walked out the front door.

He had been watching her since they left the house an hour ago. She hadn't said much as she led the way to town but then again he was kind of glad she hadn't. He wasn't in the mood for bickering at the moment. He was still upset about the scars Wolf would have scars on her face from the day before. Over the last years she had gotten a few from being kicked and thrown, but she had never been kicked in the face.

He glanced back at Amanda. She had been quiet for most of the ride. There was no doubt in his mind that these two women would have plans to foil each other. Amanda had the disadvantage. She didn't know people. Wolf knew everyone and was on friendly terms with almost everyone. There were a few people Candy'd gotten into brawls with because they couldn't keep their mouth shut about her. Things were usually said about the feather Wolf still wore.

"So, tell me, Candy." Amanda said as they neared the outskirts of town. "Does your wife always ride a horse or does she ride in a buggy sometimes?"

"She always rides. She's at home in the saddle and Wind doesn't buck. I feel comfortable with my children on that horse." Candy replied.

"You let your children ride that monstrosity?"

"Yes. He won't hurt them."

Amanda was still amazed. She watched the Indian woman slide to the ground. The horse knocked her in the head with his nose. She turned back to him and gave him something from her pocket. He munched happily. When he caught her looking at him, he turned away.

"He obviously doesn't like me." She said as Wolf walked by.

Wolf turned around to look at her horse. "He's a good judge of character."

"Wolf." Candy scolded. "I'm going to the store. Can you two behave while I'm over there?"

"I can. I'm not so sure about your wife."

Wolf shook her head as she walked away from her husband and the woman she was currently despising. She walked into the dress shop to see Mrs. Winters helping another client. She nodded and went to look at fabric when the woman smiled. Mrs. Winters had been the first woman to accept Wolf as a member of the community. Any time Wolf needed anything she went to Mrs. Winters.

"This is it?" Wolf's suddenly good mood was soured at the prejudiced voice she was coming to know all too well. "This doesn't have much at all."

"When you live on the range, you don't need much. Now, be quiet before you hurt Mrs. Winters' feelings." Wolf scolded.

The older woman came over with a happy smile. "Wolf, it's good to see you again. What can I get for you?"

"I need a new winter shirt for Bear and Carson would like a new dress."

"That little girl is growing like a weed. Last I saw her she was knee high to a grasshopper."

"She is getting bigger. I have her measurements right here. Hop Sing is a life saver at things like that."

"That cook has a heart for those kids." Mrs. Winters looked to the new woman beside her favorite ranch hand. "Who is this?"

Amanda smiled at the attention. "I'm Amanda Cartwright."

Mrs. Winters paused. "Cartwright did you say?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Who is your husband?"

"Adam Cartwright."

The older woman looked at Wolf. "Adam's returned?"

"Yes, ma'am." Wolf replied. "He's returned and I helping work the ranch. I think it's helped Mr. Cartwright since Hoss passed away last year."

"Well, that's good. Ben needed someone else besides your husband and Little Joe to help run that massive ranch." Wolf nodded. "Well, what kind of fabric would you like?"

"Bear would like a flannel shirt that will last him through the winter. Carson would like a play dress and I thought I'd surprise them both with two new shirts."

"Ben gave you a raise?"

"No, but I've save my money."

"Okay. I will make what you asked for."

Wolf smiled and pulled out the money she owed. "This is the usual price for what I'm asking."

"Wolf…"

"We go through this every time. I will pay the full amount. No questions asked."

Mrs. Winters smiled broadly. "You're too good to me, girl."

"You were good to me when I first came around. It's my turn to repay that generosity."

"But you repay it every time you're here." Wolf simply winked and walked away, very interested in the way Amanda would handle Mrs. Winters.

The older lady turned to her other client. "What can I do for you?"

Amanda had been looking around while the other two women were discussing price. The fabric was gorgeous but as she looked at it closely it wasn't to her standard. "Nothing for me."

"Could I interest you in some of this fine green silk? It's the best in the territory."

"No. This fabric doesn't meet to my standards. It's too dull and the craftsmanship is completely wrong."

Mrs. Winters looked as if she didn't know whether to cry or blow up. She looked at Wolf. The look of pure anger was something she could see. "You're an ungrateful child. How are you friends with Wolf?"

"We're not friends." Wolf said sharply.

"I see. Well, Mrs. Cartwright, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Wolf, I'll deliver these to you at the end of the week."

"That's fine by me."

"Good day, ladies."

Candy met the women on his way out of the general store with the last bag of groceries. Wolf was fuming, her patience shot. Amanda looked annoyed but was "classy" enough not to show it.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I'll explain when we get back to the Ponderosa." Wolf replied. She grabbed Wind's mane and swung up on his back. The horse read her mood and started his walk out of town.

Candy didn't say anything as he helped Amanda into the surrey. As he was driving away, he saw Mrs. Winters standing outside her shop with a frown on her face.

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Ben heard the slamming of his front door before he heard the footsteps that followed. He watched Wolf come in, pour a snifter of brandy, and down it without making a face. Joe and Adam sat up in their seats, obviously waiting on the storm that was brewing.

Candy was talking as he opened the door for Amanda. He stepped off to the side when he met the angry gaze of a Sioux Indian. In this instance he knew his wife wasn't going to back down.

"How was your trip?" Adam asked.

"Fine." Amanda replied.

Wolf made a noise in the back of her throat. Candy squeezed his eyes shut, knowing what was coming. "She insulted Mrs. Winters."

Joe's mouth fell open. "Mrs. Winters? No one insults Mrs. Winters. She's too much of a rock for someone to insult."

"Yeah, well, Mrs. Cartwright here proved that theory wrong. She told her that the material she has in her shop doesn't compare with the material she was wearing and that it didn't meet to her standards."

"Well, they don't." Amanda said.

"Young lady, that is the only place in a hundred miles where you can buy fabric at a decent price." Ben said.

"Then I'll order it."

Ben's face contorted and Wolf sat down on the chair arm beside Joe. "Listen here, miss. You will change your attitude. Yes, you may be from the east, and yes, you may be privileged but here on the Ponderosa everyone does their fair share of work. You will buy your fabric in town or you will wear the same clothes you brought until they are rags and you have no choice but to buy new fabric."

"I will not buy what I am not used to buying. I have always had the best and now that I have money, I will buy what I want."

Everyone but Adam scattered when Ben got to his feet. "You have no money. I have money that I allow Adam to use. You're just his wife. I could give you a small allowance that you could only spend on specified things. I am a very generous man, Amanda, but when you insult my family or my friends, I take that generosity away until it can be won again."

"Do you do that to Wolf? Or do you just let her do what she wishes?"

"Wolf works hard on this ranch. I have seen it." Adam said. "She doesn't give up and whatever my pa pays her is the amount she deserves. Those scratches she has on her face will scar but she got them doing something she loves. Your attitude towards her has got to stop if we're going to live here in peace."

Amanda stared at her husband in shock. Adam was very quiet unless riled and obviously the girl had made enough of an impression to cause him to get riled. She turned her head to the other woman. "I'm sorry."

Wolf nodded and excused herself from the house, Joe following behind her as Candy stayed to talk to Ben. "She's not sorry. She's going to come up with something to humiliate me."

"How do you?" Joe asked.

"Because it's what I'd do if I were in her shoes."

Joe nodded and then followed her to the barn to begin their work.


	5. Chapter 5

Wolf sat quietly in the barn loft and watched as Joe and Candy did some chores. She was hiding out and wasn't ashamed of it. Amanda had been out of the house that morning and that meant Wolf couldn't do the chores she normally did around the ranch house.

For the life of her she couldn't understand why Adam had married that woman. There was nothing that good about her, except maybe her looks. She had a bad attitude and that was just to other people. There was no telling how she treated Adam.

Adam was a good guy. Wolf really like him but his choice in women was undoubtedly stupid. He could have totally done better, but if he was in love with her there was nothing Wolf could do about it.

Rolling over onto her belly, Wolf rested her chin on her arms and watched as Candy walked in, looked around, and scratched his head. He was looking for her but she was hidden in all the hay that he had no idea where to look. Shaking his head, he walked out. She could hear him talking to Joe. After a moment, they walked away.

Wolf was completely content to stay in the loft but that plan was foiled when Adam climbed into the loft. He kicked the hay away from her and looked down at her. Wolf sat up and looked at the doorway. Adam sat down slowly and began picking at the straw underneath him.

"Why are you hiding out up?" he asked.

"It's easier than fighting." She replied.

"So you hide?" She didn't answer. "You know, Joe told me that three years ago when you first came on to the Ponderosa you refused to hide from the people in town just because you were Sioux. What's the difference?"

"Amanda lives here. The other people don't."

"You could always quit."

"I'm not quitting a job I love."

"Then don't hide from my wife."

"Why did you marry her in the first place?"

"Why did you marry Candy?"

"I love Candy."

"And I love Amanda. At first it wasn't love. It was fondness. As the years passed by, it turned into love."

"So in other words it was companionship you sought?"

"Yeah."

"Then why not come back to the Ponderosa? Your family loves you."

"As did yours."

"My family died. I had no one else. My sister betrayed me and my parents were dead. I had no one else until I came to the Ponderosa. You have family. So Hoss dies and you weren't here. The others couldn't find you. Candy used his connections to try to find you but no one seemed to be able to. It was as if you died. Ben took that as losing another son. So he devoted more time into my little family. Don't spite us for that."

"I don't. I'm grateful you did that. In fact it eased my mind when Joe told me you and Candy were there for my Pa." Wolf turned away from him after that. "Amanda means well but she's spoiled."

Wolf snorted. "Like I didn't know that already."

"She has her moments but she's a really good person. Her daddy was a millionaire and she got what she wanted. When she married me, I didn't give her what she wanted so she turned to daddy. I told her we were moving out here and she had a fit. She didn't want to leave the comforts of home."

"Then she found out you were a rich rancher and decided to come. Typical."

"She grew up believing Indians were bad. She has never been around one."

"I'm done talking about this."

Adam caught her hand as she stood up. "Ignore her from now on."

"Not a problem." Wolf grabbed the rope hanging from the main beam and swung down. She walked out to her horse and swung up. She saw Amanda coming from the house and spurred Wind on.

"Where's she going?" she asked Adam as he walked towards the house.

"Back to work I guess." He replied as he grabbed his hat off the post.

"What were you talking about?"

"You and how you're snobby attitude is annoying the fire out of her."

"She started it."

"No, dear, you did. You started it by saying she was uncivilized. She isn't. She has a job, family and home. She is civilized. Now, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't talk about her as much as you do because she will do something you can't stop. She was after all raised Sioux yet she chose to be white." Adam placed his hat on his head and kissed his wife before he went back to work.

Amanda huffed as she watched her husband disappear. She really had to do something now.

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Candy found his wife near Parker's Peak. She'd ignore him that da and he wasn't too thrilled about it, but he knew that was the way she dealt with things. He just wished he knew where her hiding spots were that way it would be easier to find her when he needed help.

He watched the way she rode; loose and free. She allowed Wind to take the lead, using her legs to steer the horse instead of her hands. They had never bridled the horse. She had refused that outright. It seemed to make the horse and rider one instead of two separate entities.

He could just picture her riding across the plains of South Dakota on a glowing steed decked out in her buckskin. She was a princess and he could see the regality in her posture as she rode.

If there wasn't something else they had to do, he would have watched her ride all day long. Candy urged his horse to move faster. He caught up with her easily considering she wasn't running full force.

"Hey, we need your help back at the house." He said as he caught up to her.

Wolf frowned into the sunlight. "What's wrong?"

"We have a horse down. We can't tell if it's been shot or if it just hurt itself."

She nodded and followed him back. He hated making her come back to a place she was steadily growing to hate because of one person but he needed the help. Not many knew horses like she did and he needed that knowledge.

She was the first one off her horse when they came back. The horse was on the ground outside the barn. She skidded to a halt and dropped to her knees, her hands making contact with the horse. All the men sat back and watched. The woman worked swiftly.

"Hop Sing!" she called.

The cook ran out at the sudden calling of his name. "Yes, Mrs. Wolf."

"Bring that salve from the kitchen."

"Yes, Mrs. Wolf." He was in the house and running back to her. "Here you go."

"Thank you. Joe, get a fire started and get the branding iron hot."

"We're going to sell this horse." Joe said.

"Not anymore we're not. It's going to need a lot of physical therapy before it's going anywhere."

"What's the branding iron going to do?" Adam asked. He was curious because he had never seen this before.

"After I pull the bullet out, and yes, this horse has been shot. After I pull the bullet out, I'm going to put some disinfectant in the wound then cauterize it with the branding iron. I'm going to have to disinfectant the wound twice a day to make sure an infection doesn't set in. Hold him down."

Candy, Ben and Adam held the horse down as Wolf grabbed the knife from her boot. She turned towards the fire and stuck the blade in the heat. After making sure it was the right temperature, she turned and cut a longer wound into the horse's side. He wasn't in the least bit happy about that and made it known. She talked soothingly in Sioux to calm him down.

Holding the fresh wound open, she carefully dug around for the bullet. After a few moments, she pulled it out and set it on her pant leg.

"Candy, open that salve and smear a decent amount on my hand." She asked.

He did as she asked, smearing enough to stop up a cow's nostrils. Wolf used two fingers on the other hand to make sure the entire wound was covered. She used the heels of her hands to close the wound. After getting a nod, Joe came over with the branding iron. He made sure Wolf had removed her hands before he stuck the hot metal against the horse's side. The sound the horse made had everyone jumping back. He was not happy.

"How long will that last?" Ben asked.

"Until the wound heals. As long as no one rides him, he should be fine."

"Wolf. Mr. Cartwright." One of the hands said as he came from inside the barn.

"What is it, Tom?" Ben asked. Tom walked out of the barn with a shotgun in his hand. Ben took it and examined it, frowning. "This is one of our guns. Joe, run inside and see if any of the guns are missing from the gun rack. And check the ammunition as well."

Joe ran in the house and was back instantly. "One gun and one round is missing."

"I'm pretty sure I know who did this." Wolf said. "Help me get him into the barn and I'll prove it."

Adam knew where this was going but kept his mouth shut. He was certain he knew who did this as well but he helped move the horse. When all was said and done and the horse was resting in his stall with Wind watching over him, they all went in the house.

"Amanda!" Wolf called as soon as they got in the house. She wasn't going to play games. "Amanda, get down here!"

"Don't call to my wife like that." Adam said harshly. Joe and Candy blocked his path as he tried to move past hem when she continued to call. "Move."

"It's best for you not to get involved. It was one thing to be talking about the children, but now the horses have been tampered with." Joe said. "Sorry, Brother Adam, but I won't let you go near her right now."

Adam was helpless to stop the confrontation that was coming in about three seconds.

Amanda came down the stairs with as much elegance as she could muster. Wolf inhaled sharply at the fake air of elegance and set her hip.

"What is all the yelling about?" she asked. Wolf snagged the gun from Joe's hands and held it up. "Put that gun away!"

"It was away. That is until you took it off the wall and shot my horse." Wolf said.

"I did no such thing."

Wolf reached into her back pocket and pulled out a white glove. "You were wearing these this morning when you went out into the stable. I remember because I was up the loft watching as you talked to Ben and Joe before they started morning chores. Explain why you shot my horse."

Amanda looked at the faces that filled the room. She was being put on trial for she would never do. Adam crossed his arms. He wanted to hear this and she knew she couldn't lie to him.

"Everyone thinks so highly of you. It's as if I don't belong."

"You don't."

"Wolf." Ben scolded.

She looked back at him. "You think everyone is beneath you just because you were a millionaire's daughter. You don't try to get along with us. The only person you talk to is Adam and that's only when you want something. There's nothing you do around here that makes it seem like you want to be a part of this family. All of us," she motioned around the room, "we work as a team to make this ranch run. Right now, you're just giving us a headache. So if you don't want to do anything, don't come down."

No one said anything after that, which made Amanda think everyone was against you. She sank to the floor with a sob.

Wolf walked forward, making Adam jump and Joe hold his brother back. "She's not going to hit her."

"How you know?" Adam asked.

"She wasn't attacked first. She only fights in self defense." Candy replied. "We told you that already."

Wolf kneeled and held out her hands. Amanda looked at the red stained skin. "This is the blood of an innocent animal. He didn't do anything to you. Why did you shoot him?"

"Everyone jumps when you call. I'm no one in this family."

"You haven't put forth an effort. If you want a taste of ranch life, come out with me tomorrow as I ride fence. You'll get to see what I do."

Amanda looked up at the younger woman. She was being nice after she had deliberately set out to destroy her integrity and work life. Now she was asking her to see what she did during the day. After a little bit of thought, she nodded. Wolf nodded in response.

"I'll see you at dawn."

"Dawn?"

Wolf looked down as she stood. "I ride fence on the southern forty then bust broncs for the rest of the day. My day starts at dawn. If you don't want to get left, you'll be out in that barn at dawn tomorrow." She didn't wait. She tossed the unloaded rifle to Joe and walked out of the house.

The men were shocked. The confrontation had gone one without a hitch or arguing. The next day wouldn't be so lucky for that. They took their small victories in stride.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's** **Note:** I know Adam's wife is mean, but for some reason when I started writing this I pictured her mean and him knowing it, but not being able to do something about it for a long time. He will be able to do something about it in later chapters. This I promise you. I just have to get to the point where Wolf wants to kill the Amanda before I let that happen. It is the "War of the Wives" after all.

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Early that next morning Amanda walked cautiously out of the house in riding pants and a loose blouse. Her hat hung about her neck as she looked around the small receiving area. She hadn't ridden normal in years. It wasn't proper for a New England woman to ride straddle legged, well much less ride anymore. They had to ride in buggies or surreys and they couldn't get out before a man.

Wolf walked out of the stable with two horses. One she led by a bridle and the other walked freely. Why couldn't Amanda be like her? Not the Indian part but the wild and carefree part. There was just something beautiful about her, especially when she rode. She was able to move about the ranch with ease and command the other ranch hands. She wished she had that freedom to do whatever.

The other woman stopped in front of her. The scratches on her face were just red marks now but they had been nasty when they were fresh. Candy had taken very good care of his wife during that time, especially with three children running around them all the time.

The thought of the children made Amanda regret what she had said about Bear and Carson. She knew deep down that she would have been riled if someone said something about Benji or Michael. She had no idea why she would open her mouth against a woman who could not only kill her, but scalp her also.

Wolf stopped in front of her. "This is Rocket. He's the son of Adam's horse Sport. Adam trained him before he left. You should be fine on him"

"Do you not have a step ladder?" Amanda asked. She was a little wary about riding considering she hadn't done it in so long.

"I couldn't find it in the stable. You have to remember, we don't have many women living on the Ponderosa so we don't use it often."

"Then how do you get on your horse?"

"I swing up." She tied Rocket to the post and walked around to the left side. "Put your foot in my hand and step up. Make sure to hold on to the horn."

Amanda wasn't sure what she was doing but she listened to Wolf. She placed her foot in her hand and swung up into the saddle. Wolf handed her the reins and looked at her.

"If you're afraid, he'll know that. Calm down and take a deep breath." Wolf advised as she adjusted the stirrups while Wind came over.

"Taking a deep breath is easier said than done." She replied. She watched as the other woman swung into the saddle. "How can I learn to do that?'

"It takes practice. Rocket, forward."

The horse started forward. Amanda looked behind her. Wolf was sitting comfortably on her horse, her own elegance coming through.

As the women rode away from the house, Adam stood out of the porch sipping his coffee. He figured the morning would be calm because the women were at least attempting to get along. He had smiled when Wolf had helped his wife into the saddle and made sure she was set. They rode off in complete silence and that was a surprise in and of itself.

"What are you looking at, Adam?" Joe asked.

"The women rode out of here without a snide comment." Adam replied.

"Well that's odd. I think I like them better when they're arguing." Joe got an odd look on his face. "Why do you let your wife argue with Wolf?"

"She doesn't know not to and I don't want to be the one to have her figure that out."

"She's your wife. You do realize that if something happens to Wolf, Candy will hold you responsible."

"I do realize that and I also realize Amanda probably wouldn't survive the onslaught that will come."

Joe shook his head. "You're taking a big risk letting her do that. I've seen Wolf shoot a rifle and not miss her quarry. She's not one to be messed with"

"Neither am I." Adam set his coffee cup on the railing, slipped his hat on his head, and walked to his horse.

His younger brother watched him ride away, knowing full well this might end in a disaster.

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The first six hours of riding were torture. Amanda hadn't gone very far when her horse threw a shoe. Rocket obviously enjoyed that because he leapt back home leaving her riding Wind with Wolf.

The women rode in silence much of the morning until a bobcat tried to attack the stallion. He rared up on his hind legs, knocking Amanda to the ground. The big cat saw that and immediately went on the hunt. A single shot rang out and the cat yowled before dropping to the ground. Wolf ran over and made sure the animal was dead before looking over the woman.

After that Amanda refused to ride. Wolf shrugged and was loading the bobcat on the back of her horse when Adam rode up. He had heard the shots off in the distance and come to see what the problem was. He offered to take Amanda with him because he was going to ride fence with them. Wolf shrugged and got back on her horse.

The three rode fence until it was time for lunch. Wolf stored the bobcat in the smoke house for later skinning before she went into the house. Hop Sing made sandwiches for them and had cold tea waiting. Ben informed them there were three new horses to bust. The look on the Indian woman's face was that of pure joy.

After lunch, everyone saddled up and went to corral. Wolf slid into a pair of chaps as the other men brought the horses out. Candy was also decked out in case he needed to work the horses. Joe rode Cochise into the corral and grabbed one horse by the bridle. He held the reins close to him.

"Wolf." Candy said as his wife climbed over the rail next to him. "Remember to keep your head tucked. Last time your chin hit your chest and you jarred your teeth."

"I know. After this you get to ride and I'm going to rope strays." She replied as she climbed in the saddle.

"Mr. Cartwright ask you to do that?"

"I heard war drums last night while making my last round. The herd's up in that area. I'm going to do a head count to make sure they're all there."

"I'll go with you."

"Not necessary. I can handle it."

He made a face but it was soon forgotten as the horse took to bucking and a twisting. Joe and Cochise got out of the way just in time. Every man was calling to the woman riding the horse. Amanda couldn't see why anyone would like to ride a horse for any particular reason but the way this one rode was special.

She was thrown a few minutes later and crawled under the bottom rail. When she stood and wiped the dirt off her face, she was laughing. Amanda had never heard her laugh before but soon Candy was laughing and so was Joe. She used the bandana her husband handed her to wipe her face then swung up on Wind. She was gone after that.

"Where did she go?" Amanda asked Adam.

"I don't know. Pa, where did Wolf go?" the oldest Cartwright son asked.

"She's going to look for strays. Paiutes have been on a war path lately." Ben replied without taking his eyes off the corral.

"Oh. Shouldn't someone go with her?"

"She can handle herself rather well, Adam. She should be fine."

Adam thought his father was wrong but he didn't argue. If he thought that woman could handle herself, then he was right.

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Candy was pacing the living room of his small house overlooking Lake Tahoe. Wolf had left the corral around two that afternoon and hadn't been seen since. The other had assured him she would show up around dark.

It was dark and she hadn't shown up.

After dinner, Bear and Carson had gotten baths and gone to bed. As usual they begged for a story which Candy delivered in his normal way; with animal sounds and funny voices. Carson was asleep within the first five pages. The three year old played so hard she wore herself out. Bear was a little harder to get to sleep. He had rapt attention and always used it. Finally he was asleep and that left Candy to worry.

He had just sat down at the table to when there was a knock at the door. He threw it open to see Joe standing there with Hop Sing and his hat in his hands.

"You better come up to the house." Joe said somberly. Hop Sing and Candy walked past each other as one went in the door and the other went out.

Candy slid off his horse before it had even come to a stop. He walked in the house without knocking and looked around. Wolf was standing at the end of the couch with a bandage wrapped around her arm. Blood was smeared over her face and shirt. Other than that she looked fine.

He walked over to her and grabbed her in a rough hug. She rested her head against his shoulder as he looked down. Adam was lying on the couch with the doctor looking over him. There was a hole the size of his finger in the man's chest. Amanda was to the side crying while she held her son. Benji was sitting by Ben as the two watched.

"What happened?" Candy asked.

Wolf sniffed and rubbed her nose. "Ask her."

Candy looked to Amanda. "What happened?"

"I wanted to go see what he meant when he said round up strays. I didn't think it would do any harm. So after dinner Adam and I rode out to help Wolf. She had a calf and was coming back when shots rang out. She was clipped in the shoulder and tumbled off the horse. Adam laid down cover fire as we went to help her."

"Instead, she screamed and gave our position away. Adam was shot." Wolf finished angrily. "You could have gotten us killed. You don't ever scream when there are Indians after you. They typically know the land better than you and know how to get to you faster. You're lucky I'm a good shot."

"Wolf, this is not the time." Ben said.

"This is exactly the right time. You don't need her here if she's going to cause this much trouble. You've already lost one son. You don't want to lose another."

The resounding smack was loud in the quiet room. Ben and Wolf stared fire into each other's eyes. Candy stared in shock at the sudden smack he watched his wife receive. She turned and walked out the door without so much as a word to anyone. Ben turned to his foreman after that.

"Candy, I'm sorry for hitting your wife, but that was the last straw. From now on, the two women will not be near each other. If that happens and I hear word about it, one of you will be expelled from the Ponderosa."

"Pa, you can't do that!" Joe exclaimed. "Candy's one of the best we have and Wolf's our bronc buster. We can't ask them to leave."

"Adam is my son. I will not have him hurt."

"And Candy and Wolf and those two children have become your family as well. I don't want Adam hurt either but Candy and his family live on the Ponderosa. You can't just boot them off."

"It's my ranch and I..."

"Think of the children! Think of Bear and Carson and any more they might have. This is their home as much as it is ours. It isn't fair that you kick them off because the women have an argument. Women have arguments all the time."

"Joe, maybe your pa is right. Wolf ad Amanda will never see eye to eye. Maybe it's time that we get off the Ponderosa." Candy said.

Joe looked at his friend. "You can't possibly mean that."

"I do. Wolf and I will go into town and talk to the land office. We'll see what's up for sale." Candy nodded and left the house.

Joe looked at Ben before his father walked away. That forced him to storm out of the house.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** This chapter is the turning point. It's got the mean spirit that the entire story has had, but one of the women says something profound and the other has to listen. I won't say who because it would give the story away. Adam also has a big role in this chapter.

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Candy opened the door after the first knock. Joe stepped through the opening with his hat in his hand as his friend stepped back. They nodded in hello.

"Where's Wolf?" he asked as he walked through.

"She left early this morning. I was just about to take the kids into town." Candy replied as he slipped on his gun belt.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all. Bear! Carson! We're going to town."

The sound of feet running towards them was loud. The children ran circles around the men before flying out the door. Bear was holding the reins to Candy's horse. Candy set him on the big animal and smiled when he hugged the horse's neck. He was just like his mother, in love with animals.

Carson was placed on Cochise. She was a little more skittish but when she got used to the horse, she was happy. She took the reins and helped Joe.

The two adults steered the horses into town at a leisurely pace.

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Wolf dropped to the ground outside the ranch house and went inside without knocking. Ben was working in the northern pasture with a few of the hands. They were driving the strays that had been missed the day before. Joe had disappeared the night before and Candy was heading into town.

She had left that morning to find some herbs and mix an old Indian remedy for Adam. She felt bad for the man but she didn't feel guilty. It hadn't been her fault. She had done what she had been taught; stay hidden and don't make a sound. That's how she'd survived for twenty-two years.

Amanda was coming down the stairs when she shut the door. She had heard the heavy wooden door open and wanted to see who it was. The women looked at each other; one with anger and the other trepidation. Wolf walked up the stairs, passing the Cartwright woman by completely. Amanda followed anyway, knowing where the Canaday woman was going.

Adam was propped up in bed staring at the ceiling. It was an obvious factor that he was bored. He had taken the nasty medicine the doctor had prescribed and had lain in bed since Ben had ordered it. Amanda had been grating on his nerves because she had been hovering the entire time. She kept asking if he was okay or if he needed anything and that was bothering him to no end.

He was preparing to yell when the door opened and he sighed. Wolf was a sight for sore eyes. After being shot, he had passed out. Since Amanda had been hovering, he knew she was okay, but he didn't know if the other woman he had been trying to protect was hurt worse. He'd heard she'd been shot as well but since she had disappeared he never saw for himself how bad she was hurt.

She had a bandage wrapped around her right bicep. Obviously she had been shot as well but not as bad as he had. She sat down and peeled off the bandage covering his bullet wound. For some reason he couldn't look away from her face. It was etched with different emotions that he couldn't read.

"You were shot by a war party." She said as she carefully unwrapped the soiled bandage.

"I know. Amanda told me." He replied. The wound on his chest was bigger than he thought. It must have been a shotgun.

"Did she tell you the whole story?"

"I remember some of it. We were coming to help you check fences when we heard the gun shots. You were bogged down and I started laying cover fire. After that I don't remember much."

Wolf glanced at Amanda as if she were agitated. She probably was but wasn't going to say anything just yet. "You were running to help me. You sent Amanda my way and came from a different angle, using the bushes as cover. She heard the shrubs rattle behind her and screamed, giving away our hiding spot."

"How'd you get shot?"

Wolf applied her salve and wrapped his shoulder once again, forcing him to lean against her as she did so. "You were shot first. Amanda was screaming bloody murder. I pounced on her to shut her up. She bit me once. When I turned around, there was a gun in my face. Amanda started begging and he turned to her, giving me time to kick his knee. He stumbled back and his gun went off, nailing me in the shoulder. I didn't have time to worry about it. I had to get you back here. There was no way I could get you back here without leaving your wife behind so I sent a warning."

"How'd you do that?"

"Little Joe. I sent Wind back to him. Any time that horse comes back alone he knows something's wrong."

Adam groaned as he laid back against his propped up pillows. Amanda hadn't moved from the door, a look of shame on her face. "Was Amanda hurt?"

"No."

"So in other words you save her life?" Wolf nodded as she poured something from her canteen. "Thank you, on both our behalves."

"You're welcome." She handed him a steaming cup. "Drink this. It'll make you stronger."

He took the cup in his good hand. The liquid was warm and had a greenish tint to it. He glanced at her but she was busy mixing something else. Braving it, he took a sip and, much to his surprise, he liked it. "Mint?"

"And oak and pine nuts all boiled to a thick syrup then thinned with water."

"It's really good."

Wolf nodded and set the jar on the bedside table. She patted his shoulder and left the room.

Amanda followed close behind, angry at the intimate moment that had just passed between his husband and another man's wife. "You think you're so great, don't you? All because you save his life."

"I saved your life, too." The other woman replied as she went to Ben's desk, pulled out a piece of paper, and started writing.

"I think I'd rather have died than to be save by you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Amanda was so angry she swiped her hand across the desk, knocking the ink onto the paper and Wolf's hand. Wolf stopped writing and stared at the desk. "You better walk away before you get hurt."

"Ever since I came here, you've had it in for me. No wonder my father never wanted me to meet any Indians. You're all the same."

"By whose standards?"

"The men who destroyed your homes. They all said you were heathens. Now I know that they were right. No Indian can be tamed. And what's worse is they pass that gene down to their children."

"My children behave like white man."

"Only because your husband raises them that way. They probably get made fun of because they're half white, with their mother being a squaw."

Wolf quit cleaning up the mess on the desk and raised her gaze. Pure hatred blazed there. Amanda took a step back, realizing she had gone too far. :"Hop Sing."

The cook scurried into view. "Yes, Mrs. Wolf?"

"Lock the kitchen." Hit didn't argue as he went back to his room. There was a scratching sound as he pushed something in front of the door.

Amanda hit the railing of the stairs. "You're going to attack me aren't you?"

The other woman shook her head as she stalked her quarry. "No. what I'm going to do is far worse. You almost killed your husband. You almost killed yourself. You would left your children without any parents had that Indian shot you and killed Adam. What's worse, he would have taken you back to his tribe and made you his prisoner, his squaw. You would have had no rights and no voice." Amanda gasped at that. But Wolf wasn't finished. "You have no sense of decency or respect, much less self-respect. You flaunt your wealth, which has no standing here. This is Nevada, to New York or Boston. You think you're better because you're educated. Well, Adam's educated but his heart's here. I see it every time I talk to him you may be his wife but you're not his first love and you will never be. Once you realize that, your life will change."

Amanda stared in shock at her rival. She hadn't touched her but her words were like a double edged sword. She was telling her things she had never thought about before. There was nothing she could have done about it. It was now out in the open. Wolf must have realized this when she married Candy. This ranch had become their home and they knew it.

"What's going on here?" Ben asked. He had come right in the middle of the conversation and had no idea what it was about but he had a pretty good idea.

"I gave Adam some Indian medicine. He should be fine in a day or two." Wolf replied. "I made a mess on your desk when I was writing the instructions. Let me clean it and I'll be gone."

Ben watched as his adopted daughter-in-law cleaned the mess on his desk. He was quite certain there was going to be a stain because she had let the ink sit for a little bit. She picked up a set of rags and wet them to scrub the ink off.

"I'll see you later, Mr. Cartwright." She said.

"Don't let her go, Pa." They all looked at the stairs as Adam came down.

"Adam, should you really be up?" Amanda asked.

He looked at his wife. "We'll talk later." She nodded miserably. Adam turned toward the ink covered woman. "You have no qualms talking out, do you?"

"Not when it's the truth." Wolf tossed the soiled rags in the trash and headed for the door. Adam caught her arm. "Let go."

"I'm tired of this. The two of you need to learn to get along if you're both going to live here."

"Don't worry about that. Once we move off the Ponderosa, everything will be fine."

"You don't have to leave the Ponderosa." Ben said.

"Obviously we do if this is going to be a constant. I lived here because no one judged me based on my skin color. Now that's changed. We'll find a place shortly and be out of your hair." She jerked away and left the house.

Adam stared at the door with a clenched fist. "Amanda."

She walked over to him with her head down. "Yes, Adam?"

"That woman saved your life and you tell her she is proud for it? She killed a man to keep you safe and this is how you repay her? With words of slander against her skin?"

Amanda huffed up at the accusation. "You look at her with such longing that you never look at me. It's like she's your soul mate."

"She understands this more than you do. I grew up on the Ponderosa. I helped raise my brothers on the Ponderosa and I worked the Ponderosa with my blood, sweat and tears. This has and always will be my home. Does that mean I'm uncivilized as well?"

"Adam, I….I didn't know."

"You didn't know? She just spelled it out for you. Yes, I look at her with admiration because she's a woman who knows what her husband's first love is. That's how she and Candy have survived these last three years. They know the other inside and out and they know what the other's first true love was. You have yet to learn to set you biases aside and see with a different eye."

Amanda had never been spoken to in such a way in her life it made her cry. She swept up the stairs and went to their room. After packing a bag, she grabbed Michael from the crib and went down the stairs with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm getting a room in town for a few days." She replied as the tears slid down her face.

"Leave the children."

She gawked at him. "I will not leave my children here."

"You can't hold the baby and drive the buggy at the same time. Michael and Benji stay here." Adam was not moving on that. He stared at her until she handed Michael over to Ben. Throwing her shawl over her shoulders she picked up her bag and walked out the door. With her head high, she got in the buggy and rode on the way to town.

"Adam, was that the right thing to do?" Ben asked as he looked down at his grandson.

"I'm tired of their constant arguing. I've talked to Wolf. She's given her a chance to get along with her but Amanda isn't making that possible. I'll do whatever I have to do to get them to work this out."

"Hey, Pa, where's Amanda going?" Joe asked as he and Candy rode up with the other two children. They set them on the ground and watched them take off to the barn.

"She's going to be staying in town for a few days." Adam answered.

Candy pinched his the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. "Wolf's been up here, hasn't she?"

"Yes, she came to give me some of that Indian salve and tea. While she was here, Amanda laid into her. I think she was the reason there's an ink stain on Pa's desk."

"Was Wolf angry?" Joe asked.

"I wouldn't say angry but annoyed. She was very sharp with her."

"Were you listening at the top of the stairs?" Ben asked. Adam nodded. "Then you heard the entire thing?" Another nod. "Well, what was it about?"

"Wolf saved mine and Amanda's lives and Amanda was ungrateful for it. She claimed that I looked upon Wolf with love instead of admiration."

Candy frowned. "She thinks you love my wife?"

"Yeah."

"Do you?"

Adam looked at the foreman. He wasn't scared. He was more interested than anything. "I look upon your wife with admiration. She can tell what's important to you and flaunt that. Which is why I'm going to ask this. Candy, don't leave the Ponderosa. It's as much your home as it is ours. It wouldn't be the same without you. Plus, your children have grown up here. It wouldn't be fair if you moved them because of some squabble."

Candy looked between all the Cartwrights. This was his home and he didn't want to move if he didn't have to. "I do love working here and I know Wolf does too. Not to mention Bear and Carson have enough space to run and be free and not worry about anyone trying to hurt them." The men nodded in agreement. Candy nodded. "All right. We'll stay but it's going to be a war when I tell Wolf."

"I have a feeling she's going to be happier about staying her home than she will be angry with you."

"Hey, Adam, aren't you going to town to get your wife?" Joe asked.

"No. She can stay there and cool off. It's much more peaceful without her here at the moment. Hop Sing must have lunch ready for us by now."

They all went inside and helped the cook put his kitchen back together before eating.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** I based the character Wolf off one of my friends. She does most of the stuff Wolf has done in these chapters.

This chapter will consist of the women riding home from town. Something else will take place.

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Wolf rode into town and directly to the livery stable to have the Cartwrights wagon hitched up and then went to the hotel.

It had been three days since Amanda had left and her family was paying for it. Adam was a grump. He grumbled like an old bear about to attack someone. Benji was okay. He played with the other children but at night he wanted his mother there to tuck him in. Michael missed her humming. He cried at night and that kept Hop Sing up to all hours.

Ben was grumpy like an old papa bear. He would look at everyone with something close to disdain. All the hands knew it was because his son was unhappy. He had to hear about how much pain he was in. sometimes he even had to dress his wound and make sure he cleaned the wound when he was in the tub.

Joe was the one who took it harder than most. He was used to a grumpy father and carefree best friend. Now he had a grumpy father and brother and carefree friend. That made for an unhappy Little Joe. He would snap at the smallest thing. That wasn't unusual for him but it was ten times worse.

Candy and Wolf were pretty much the same.

Candy worked like he had before anything had happened. He kept up with his chores and made sure his family was taken care of before anything. He was used to fights and hard work meshing together. He was there if anyone needed him and that usually meant he was breaking up fights.

Wolf threw herself into busting broncs. She would start early in the morning and finish close to dark. She was lucky she had taught Candy to cook when they had first gotten married. She had a good meal to come home to or they just went to the ranch house for supper.

That was how she knew Adam was unhappy. They spent many nights talking. Sometime they would meet in between the two houses or the Canadays would hang around the ranch house until the children fell asleep. It was a relaxing moment for the two. They could talk freely about what was bothering them.

That's how Wolf knew to go get Amanda before Adam went stir crazy.

She walked into the hotel. Mr. Jones told her what room Amanda was in and she went up. The door was ajar when she walked up and went in. the other woman was standing by the window looking out over the town.

"Get your stuff together." Wolf ordered.

Amanda turned around. "Why are you here?"

"Get your stuff together. We're going back to the Ponderosa, to your family."

"I have no family."

"Nonsense. Get your stuff together or I will go back and tell Adam that you ran off with the livery boy."

"You wouldn't."

"Care to bet?"

Amanda wasted no time in gathering her belongings and following Wolf to the buck board outside. Wolf set all the luggage in the back along with some of the supplies she had picked up at the general store. Wind started back home before them, leaving them to putter along the road to the Ponderosa.

Amanda had time to think, two hours worth. She sat quietly and watched the landscape. It didn't change much but it was comforting to know that something else was there.

She glanced at Wolf once. The other woman was concentrating on the horses and the road. She was the most focused person she had ever seen. Not much threw her off the course she was using.

"I talked to Adam last night." Wolf said as they passed the half way point.

"Of course you did." Amanda replied.

Wolf let that sarcasm pass. "He told me about what happened to you mother."

Silence followed. Amanda was even more nervous now. She didn't talk about her mother much to anyone so Adam telling this woman was a breach of privacy.

"He shouldn't have told you." She said in a prissy voice.

"It showed me a lot."

"That your mother was the person you learned tolerance from and all that went out the window the night the Algonquians attacked."

"You know too much."

"What I know is that you don't like me because I'm Indian. Your mother was killed by Indians. I understand your prejudice."

"No, you don't!" Amanda did a foolish thing; she jumped off the wagon.

Wolf sighed, pulled the horses to a halt and looked over her right shoulder. "Get back up here."

"No."

"I will leave you."

"Fine. Go. Get out of here." Amanda heard the clicks and turned around. The wagon was pulling away. She hiked up her skirt and started running. "Wait!" The wagon stopped and the driver turned around, squinting in the sun. "You were going to leave me." Wolf nodded. "I didn't think you'd actually do it."

Wolf frowned. "I told you I was going to."

"I'll believe you next time."

"There won't be a next time. You jump out of the wagon again and I won't stop. You'll be on your own walking four hours in the sun."

"I believe that."

"Good because walking in the sun with coyotes and wolves on the prowl is not fun."

"Oh, it can't be that bad."

The other woman rolled her eyes and snapped the team into action.

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Adam was standing on the porch when wagon pulled up. Amanda stepped down as Wolf climbed in the back. Ben and Joe started helping with unloading the supplies and placing them in the barn all the while getting semi-barked at by the woman standing on the buck board. They looked at her with irritation. Joe said something and earned a kick in the shoulder, which he laughed at.

The women were quiet, besides the yelling from Wolf, as they watched or moved in opposite directions. The other men wouldn't allow Wolf to carry anything that needed to be carried with two hands hence the reason she was yelling at Ben and Joe. She jumped off the buck board and landed with a cocked hip to watch as Joe yelled something from the barn doorway. She shucked something with her left hand and he slammed the door closed. They could hear him cackling on the other side.

Amanda stood next to the fence where Sport was contained. She was obviously thinking about something and Adam had a feeling he knew what it was and who was involved. She only ever got that look when she was really thinking about something to get him in trouble. It wasn't very often but he'd seen it enough to know.

"Thanks for bringing the supplies. I know it went against your list of chores." Ben said.

Wolf shrugged. "Considering you won't let me ride with a bullet hole in the arm, I didn't anything else to do."

Ben smiled at his choice of words being thrown back at him. When Adam had told Wolf she wouldn't by moving off the Ponderosa, she had gone back to work without a word. He had heard from Candy that she had done a happy dance and some kind of Indian chant when she had gotten home. So the last three days had been peaceful with her in the pastures all day.

She had found a way to work without having to ride a horse alone. She would ride to the pastures with Joe, or Adam if he went, and then spend the day running around the hot sun after cattle. It was an entertaining sight. Sometimes she would smack Cochise along the rump and send the horse and rider on a crazy ride. Joe would always know who it was but wouldn't say anything. Their friendship was crazy to say the least.

"I see you brought Amanda back." Joe said. He decided he was safe enough to venture out.

"She almost left me beside the road!" Amanda exclaimed.

Wolf rolled her eyes and Joe shoved her. She punched him in return. "She jumped out of the wagon while it was moving. I told her to get back in or I'd leave her. She didn't get back in so I started to pull away. That's when she came back. I told her it wasn't a good idea to be walking around in the sun with the coyotes and wolves roaming about. She didn't believer that either."

Adam laughed. "Is she known for that? Being so honest and leaving people by the roadside?"

Joe nodded. "Yeah. She left me to walk home one time."

"But you also made a snide comment. Then she shoved you off the buck board." Candy said.

"Don't help."

"Sounds like you know everything about everyone."

"About that. As for you, Adam Cartwright," Amanda turned to her husband and poked him in the shoulder which surprised him immensely. "Do you have to tell personal stories?"

Adam looked at Wolf as she was leaning against the hitching post. "You told her what I told you?" Wolf shrugged that was followed by a secret smile. "I outta beat you."

"That'll be the last thing you do." Joe said. He was serious.

"I can handle myself, Joe." Wolf said. "I got your wife because everyone's tired of you snapping their heads off."

"I did no such thing." Adam argued. Everyone began talking at once. Finally Adam threw his good hand up. "Okay. I get it. I was a pain in the rump, but I was entertained by the arguments that cropped up on a day to day basis."

"We got tired of it. Candy and Wolf almost left because of the arguing." Joe complained. Candy and Wolf glanced at each other in amusement. Joe was still mad about that. He had felt as if he were losing his best friends.

"We're sorry about that. We thought we were doing the right thing by coming here."

Ben's brow furrowed in confusion. "Adam, you're always welcome here. You know that."

"What he means is I'm not happy here." Amanda said. "I'm a city girl; not a country girl. I don't know anyone here beside you."

"My dear, you've never tried to get along with anyone."

"Mmmm…." Wolf said around biting a hang nail. "That's not the whole reason." Amanda looked at her and shook her head. "You have to tell them or they'll never understand."

Amanda looked around at the men looking at her. She felt Adam's hand securely on her back. She took a deep breath. "My mother was killed in an Indian raid when I was a little girl."

Candy nodded. "Sounds familiar about someone else I know." He put his arm around his wife, careful of her right arm.

Amanda looked at Wolf in surprise. "Your mother was killed as well?"

Wolf nodded into Candy's shoulder. "By my stepfather who was a white man. He was jealous about my mother's and mine standing in the tribe. Shortly before he killed my first husband, he shot my mother because she refused to go with him. He wanted none of us t be affiliated with the Sioux. I still say he wanted to sell us into slavery." She looked at the older woman somberly. She was on the verge of tears. "Don't cry for something you can't change."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

She shrugged. "He got his up and comings when the tribe caught him. I don't think about it much."

"How can you not? White man killed your family."

"White man also gave me a family. I have a Sioux son being raised by a white man. That same white man gave me a beautiful daughter. Does she know about her heritage? Not yet but she will as soon as she's old enough. I'm not ashamed of what I am or who I married. You shouldn't hate those who haven't done harm to you."

Amanda was suddenly on the same playing field with Wolf. This woman held no grudges for the person who killed her family. She had let it all go and thrown herself into working and raising her family. Candy was her rock. She could see that in the way they held each other.

"I'll give the Ponderosa a try for a little bit." She conceded.

"Whoo-hoo!" Joe yelled. He walked over to his sister-in-law and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Hop Sing's made lunch. Let's celebrate."

Adam waited as everyone went in, catching Wolf by the arm as she walked by him. "Thank you."

"It wasn't hard." She replied.

"Yes, it was but you took it in stride. I thought you were going to hit her once or twice."

"I never attack first." She walked past him with a goofy smile, leaving him to follow for lunch.


	9. Chapter 9

A few weeks later on a chilly October night all the families sat around the fire in the living room of the ranch house. The children were asleep upstairs, leaving the adults time to themselves. Ben and Joe played chess while the couples snuggled on the couch or in the chairs.

The rest of the days had gone on without a hitch. The days were cooler and everyone worked extremely hard to get all their work done by supper so they could sit by the fire for the rest of the night. Wolf and Joe worked in the barn so someone could keep an eye on the bronc buster. She had jarred her shoulder while working with the horses. Candy and Adam worked in the fields with the herd and Ben opted for the fence job.

As for Amanda, she stayed in the house and took care of the children. She followed them when they went outside to feed the chickens and pigs. She was nervous every time Bear ran up to the black stallion but calmed down when the animal would let him pet him. She had taken on a new role that didn't include yelling or being vain. It was a breath of fresh air for the men.

While drifting off to sleep, Wolf suddenly sat up, hitting the top of her head on Candy's chin. Both rubbed the sudden tender spots as the woman walked to the door.

"What is it?" Joe asked. She never moved that fast unless she felt something was wrong.

"Posse with people I don't recognize." She said.

There was a mad scramble as everyone got up. Joe tossed Wolf and Candy a shotgun a piece and the family unit went outside to face the people who dared to come on their land.

"What's going on here, Roy?" Ben asked as he looked at his old friend.

Sheriff Coffey dismounted and walked to them. "Ben, this is Andrew McCarthy. He claims your son Adam kidnapped his daughter."

"I did no such thing." Adam argued. "I only married Amanda."

"Then you kidnapped her and her children to come out here." Mr. McCarthy argued back.

Joe looked at Candy and Wolf. "Haven't we gone through this before?"

"Yep. Three years ago. It wasn't fun then either." Candy replied.

Mr. McCarthy looked over the family, his eyes stopping on Wolf. "A squaw! You let my daughter live with a squaw?"

Candy's grip tightened on his rifle. "Don't talk about my wife that way, Mister."

"Your wife!" Mr. McCarthy looked around at the other men. Not one moved. "You can't be married to a squaw! Her whole tribe will kill you!"

"The tribe and I have come to an agreement. That's all that matters."

"She dresses like a man!" another yelled from somewhere in the middle.

Joe frowned. "Yeah, this conversation sounds very familiar."

Wolf nodded. "Very familiar."

Adam and Mr. McCarthy began to argue. Everyone else simply watched with their weapons at the ready. Adam was not a happy man and he made that apparent. Mr. McCarthy was also very unhappy and he made sure his son-in-law's family knew that.

"Uncle Andrew, look." One young man slid off his horse and walked over to the fence by the barn. "Look at this. He's unbranded."

"Get away from that horse." Adam said.

"He's fair game since he's unbranded." McCarthy replied.

"That horse belongs to the Ponderosa." Ben admonished.

"It has no band." He turned toward his nephew. "Get that horse."

As the young man approached the fence, Wolf piped up. Instantly the horse rared back on his hindquarters and made an unhappy sound. The young man was so scared to death he fell back and scurried away. With another brief word from his rider, the black stallion settled down, his tail swishing unhappily.

"Papa?" The door to the house opened and Amanda ran out.

Mr. McCarthy slid to the ground and went to hug his daughter. "Oh, Mandy. You're safe."

"I'm safe, Papa. I always have been."

"Adam shouldn't have done it."

Amanda frowned and looked over her shoulder briefly. "Adam shouldn't have done what?"

Wolf walked up, shotgun in one hand and pointed at the ground for safety. "He thinks Adam kidnapped you and the boys, which he pleasantly denied."

"Papa, Adam didn't kidnap me. I followed him." Amanda took her father's arm and rubbed it gently as the words sank in.

Mr. McCarthy heard them and looked at his daughter in shock. "Why, my dear? Why leave Boston to live out here?"

"Papa, Adam grew up here. He designed the house with his father and lived here with his brothers. His heart's here, Papa, and where his heart is, I'd like to be as well, even if that means packing up and leaving the home I know."

Wolf glanced back at Adam with a small smile. He shook his head in response to her gloating, but the important part was he smiled. Mr. McCarthy saw the tension between the two, or what he thought was tension.

"What about this one? The squaw?" Wolf looked back at the aristocrat and frowned, forcing Candy and Joe to huff up and look at each other. "That's what you are."

"No, Papa, she's not." Amanda protested.

"Look at her! Braids, dark skin, dark eyes, the feather. She has squaw written all over her. Not to mention she's giving your husband the eye." Wolf flicked her eyes to Adam, who had moved to stand beside her. "What are you, girl? Navajo?"

The sudden look of contempt graced Wolf's face. "No. I'm Sioux."

"Sioux! They are the worst! And now you have two white men after your affections!"

"Papa!" Amanda looked between her father and Wolf to judge the reaction. "Papa, she doesn't love Adam that way."

Wolf was glaring daggers and that made Amanda very uneasy. She'd seen that look once or twice and had a hard time judging the reaction. Adam, fortunately, made that easy for her. He grabbed Wolf's unarmed arm and tugged her back with him to stand between him and Ben. She didn't move after that and kept quiet.

"It might be best if you stay right here." Adam whispered.

The woman looked at her friend before looking back at his wife. They shared an understanding look before Wolf nodded.

"Papa, Wolf's my friend. You can't talk to her like that." Amanda said as she tried to placate her father. "She's a good ranch hand and a good friend to Adam. Yes, they stay up to all hours of the night talking about things I don't understand, but that's good for him. She trained that horse over there, the one you want. Even if you tried to take him, he wouldn't let you ride him he's that picky."

"He's that smart." Adam corrected. He glanced at Wolf for conference.

"Sir," Candy winced as his wife spoke up. This could go one of two ways and at the the rate it was going it looked like it would go the opposite direct than he wanted it to. "No matter what you think of me, your daughter has become very happy here. She takes care of the children and makes sure all our clothing is up to par. She has made this place her home. Granted we had some problems in the beginning we get along now. Why don't you stay and see how we all work? Maybe it will give you some insight to how much trouble we go through to keep this place up."

"That's a great idea!" Amanda turned to her father-in-law. "Mr. Cartwright, can my father and cousin stay for a few days? It might be good for all of us to get to know each other."

Ben looked to his sons. Both shrugged in response. Then he looked at the Canadays. Candy nodded for his family since Wolf had brought it up. "Since my whole family is in agreement, why not. It's always good to let northerners see how hard we work on the Ponderosa. "

"I don't think so. This place is no place for me and my nephew to stay." Mr. McCarthy proclaimed haughtily.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told your daughter. Your wealth has no standing here. That means you can't bully your way into people's places. It won't work." Wolf stated.

The older gentleman looked at her. "You have no qualms stating you opinion."

"That's exactly what I said." Adam stated.

Wolf elbowed him in the ribs and earned a laugh. "It's the truth. If you're affiliated with Cartwrights, you get all the perks." This time it was her who got elbowed.

"You have to get to know Mr. Cartwright and his family, Papa. They're good people." Amanda said.

"Does the Indian woman live in the house?"

"No, we live half a mile away from here on our own stretch of Ponderosa." Candy said.

It took a little bit longer to persuade the man to go, but Mr. McCarthy finally followed Ben and Amanda inside. His nephew, however, decided to stay in town. He wasn't sold on the fact that an Indian lived on the Ponderosa.

Amanda showed him up to his room. They could hear them talking down in the living room as the other four put their guns away. Candy slipped into his jacket and went upstairs to collect his children so they could return home.

Adam walked Wolf to the door and helped her into her jacket. They shared an intimate look that forced Joe and Ben to look away even though they knew it was nothing so Ben headed upstairs to help Candy with the children while Joe watched with interest. "Why couldn't I have met you earlier?"

"Are you saying you're in love with me, Adam Cartwright?" she asked.

"I'm saying I would have easily married you like Candy did. No, I love Amanda so you have nothing to worry about."

"Good."

He leaned against the chest behind him. "You cease to amaze me."

"All I did was to let your father-in-law know that we work hard. That's it." She replied as she tossed her saddle bags over her shoulder.

"Well, you did a good job diffusing that situation, even if you did almost scare a boy to death with that horse of yours." Joe said. His smile was the only thing that meant he wasn't angry. A little annoyed, but not angry. "Although, I did think Candy was going to shoo that man for calling you a squaw."

She shrugged. "It's a word that I'm used to. No big deal.'

"Well, we don't like hearing it."

"No, we don't." Ben said as he and Candy came down carrying Bear and Carson. Amanda followed close behind. He handed Bear over to his mother. "I think these two enjoy themselves too much."

Candy smiled. "I do too while living here."

"Wolf?" The woman turned toward the voice. Amanda smiled. "Thank you for not arguing with my father. I know it would have made it worse."

"I learned a long time ago not to argue with a hard headed man." She turned to her husband and smiled, forcing his smile to brighten and his eyes to twinkle. There was so much love between the two.

"I understand that." She laughed when Adam poked her in the side. After calming, she stuck out her hand. Wolf smiled and took it. "I'm glad to call you my friend."

"Me too. Well, we better get these two home and into bed. We'll see you in the morning."

Joe kissed her cheek and shook Candy's hand before closing the door after they had left. He looked at his family. "I'm going to bed as well. See you in the morning." He took the stairs two at a time, Ben following at a more leisurely pace.

Adam walked over and stoked the fire. "I was proud of you tonight."

Amanda smiled at the compliment. "Because I didn't snap?"

"Because you stood up for Wolf. You've never done that before."

"I never realized how good a friend she could be to me and how good a friend she was to you until the day she almost left me by the side of the road."

He looked at her intently. "If you want to return back east, I won't stop you."

She crossed over to him and took his face in her hands. "How could you say such a thing, Adam Cartwright? Did you not hear what I told my father? Where your heart is, I also want to be. Your heart is on the Ponderosa and that is where I will be. You have me till death do us part."

Adam kissed his wife and led her up the stairs.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note**: This is the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it as I did writing it.

(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)

"Well, my dear Mandy, I better be going." Mr. McCarthy said as he walked from the Ponderosa ranch house.

After the last three days, he was satisfied that his daughter was being taken care of. Everyone that lived on the Ponderosa was always busy doing some sort of work. He had been really impressed with the way Wolf busted broncs and the fact that she juggled work with family life. She was a good mother, wife and friend.

He was also impressed with the rest of the Cartwright family. They really cared about each other and that showed with the way they bickered and laughed at each other or with each other. They were all very nice and very secure in their lives and as a family.

Amanda frowned as they stopped by the horses. "Do you have to, Papa? It's only been three days."

"Mandy, I fear I've overstayed my welcome." He laughed.

"Nonsense. You're family."

"Look around. Your husband and the others aren't even around to see me off."

"They're out on the range. They said they'd be back." The sound of multiple horses came on the wind. "Here they come."

All five people in question stopped. Ben and Adam dismounted but the other three stayed where they were. Mr. McCarthy looked over the black stallion Wolf was riding and whistled appreciatively.

"That's some animal you have there, Mrs. Canaday." He had started calling her by her name instead of the Indian insult.

Wolf smiled. "That he is."

"Are you sure you don't want to sell him?"

"Do you know Sioux?"

"No."

"Sorry, he's not for sell."

"If I learned your language would you consider selling him?"

Candy laughed. "Mr. McCarthy, the Sioux language is very hard to master."

"I think what the Canadays are saying in very uncertain terms is the horse is not for sale at all." Adam said as he looked at his family with amusement.

Mr. McCarthy turned to his son-in-law. "You take care of my daughter or I will be back."

"Don't worry, Mr. McCarthy. She's in good hands."

"Did you say goodbye to the children?" Ben asked.

"I did. I hated to leave the little ones."

"I'm sure they're fine."

"I believe you." Once again, Mr. McCarthy turned to Wolf. "Mrs. Canaday, I want to apologize to you personally. I'm afraid my prejudice must have made my daughter's and my first impressions a little rocky."

Wolf shifted on Wind's back. "It wasn't that bad."

"From what I heard it was."

Both women looked at the same man at the same time. "Adam."

The man looked sheepish as he shook his father-in-law's hand. "Have a good trip to Boston."

"I will, son. I will." He turned and hugged his daughter. "Goodbye, my dear."

Amanda hugged him tightly. "Goodbye, Papa. Write often."

"I will." He stepped into the buggy and waved as it pulled away.

"Nice man." Joe said.

"Yes, he is." Ben looked around at the others standing around doing nothing. "Why are you all standing around here for? There's work to be done!"

Adam ducked his head, kissed his wife, and ran back to his horse. He looked at Wolf as she handed him the reins.

"We're going to have a little talk about your problem with telling information." She said.

Candy and Joe laughed as they turned their horses. They rode back to the pastures they'd been working as Amanda went back into the house to check on the children.

The war of the wives was over and a new beginning was ushered in.

END


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